Knies was in the middle of all of the Leafs’ overtime success against the Lightning — not at all common for an NHL newcomer.
Knies had three assists in the series. Longtime hockey observers such as ex-NHL forwardhave a hard time thinking of another rookie who made a similar impact in such a short time on hockey’s biggest stage.
“There wasn’t anything like that I’ve experienced, not like that … coming out of the college and right into the playoffs,” said Kypreos, who won a Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994 and nowKypreos mentioned Stéphane Matteau, who scored a pair of overtime goals in the 1994 Eastern Conference final — including the Game 7 winner against the New Jersey Devils in double OT, still one of the most iconic moments in Rangers history — after just 12 regular-season games with the...
At six-foot-three and 210 pounds, Knies has the size to play power forward. He also has first-step speed that sets him apart, in front of the opposing net and in battles along the boards. On Tavares’s Game 6 winner to wrap up the Leafs’ first playoff series win since 2004, Knies won a board battle with Tampa all-star defencemanbefore dishing a backhand feed to Tavares, who brought the puck out from behind the net, turned and scored.
“That was a small/big play,” Kypreos said of the Knies pass. “There’s an old saying that if you take care of the small things, big things will happen … That was Matt Knies on that goal by Tavares.”
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